Full-time CSA Farm Staff Position (7174)

The Licking Creek Bend Farm is a pesticide-free 60 acre mixed vegetable, fruit and Christmas tree farm in its 52nd year of operation located in the foothills of the PA's Allegheny Mountains in southern Pennsylvania right on the border of Maryland and West Virginia, 2-hours from Washington/Baltimore/Pittsburgh. Beautiful farm near C&O Canal in a valley - swimmable creek. Free WiFi. Close to biking, hiking, and the Appalachian Trail. Near Berkeley Springs, West Virginia and Bluegrass and folk festivals.

We are unique worker run farm. This means that under the leadership of the owners and manager the team is given a tremendous amount of responsibility and initiative. Employees are seen as equals and valuable members of the team who, after proper training, are given autonomy, responsibility, and trust in their opinions and decisions in how to “get the job done”. The planting, nurturing and harvesting are on the plants’ schedule, not ours. Each variety has its own growing time frame, so the planting has to get done in a timely manner, then the plants have to be weeded, nurtured and cared for during their growth, and harvested when they are ready and for each farmers market.

Candidates must be able to work maturely and responsibly with a team and have the ability to take responsibility and ownership for their role in the farm team.

We are Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) which exceeds USDA certified organic standards, growing over 30 varieties of vegetables, a small variety of mixed berries with apple, pear and Christmas tree orchards.

We strive for holistic and environmentally healthy practices with a strong focus on soil health, heirloom varieties and abstaining from any chemically-based pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. We serve a 50 member and growing CSA program, multiple farmers markets in the D.C. area and sell wholesale to a Co-op, restaurants and universities.

The farm’s philosophy is to grow quality healthy food in an environmentally sustainable way at affordable prices. We market much of our produce to mixed income communities and food insecure neighborhoods. We participate in local DC Produce Plus and federal WIC/Senior subsidy and assistance programs and donate to food distribution and non-profit subsidy programs.

HOW TO APPLY:

Please email us and include a

• COVER LETTER. Please include why this opportunity interests you, why you want to work on a farm and what you can bring to the position.
• RESUME and three REFERENCES

WE WILL NOT CONSIDER YOU WITHOUT THIS INFORMATION.

Licking Creek Bend Farm is a 60 acre mixed vegetable, fruit and Christmas tree farm in its 52nd year of operation located in the foothills of the PA's Allegheny Mountains in southern Pennsylvania right on the border of Maryland and West Virginia.. 2-hours from Washington/Baltimore/Pittsburgh. Beautiful farm near C&O Canal in a valley - swimmable creek. Free WiFi. Close to biking, hiking, close to Appalachian Trail. Near Berkeley Springs, West Virginia and Bluegrass and folk festivals.

We are Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) which exceeds USDA certified organic standards growing over 30 varieties of vegetables, a small variety of mixed berries with Apple and Christmas tree orchards.

We strive for holistic and environmentally healthy practices with a strong focus on soil health, heirloom varieties and abstaining from any chemically-based pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. We serve a 50 member and growing CSA program, multiple farmers markets in the D.C. area and sell wholesale to a Co-op, restaurants and universities.

The farm’s philosophy is to grow quality healthy food in an environmentally sustainable way at affordable prices. We market much of our produce to mixed income communities and food insecure neighborhoods. We participate in a local DC Produce Plus and federal WIC/Senior subsidy and assistance programs and donate to food distribution and non-profit subsidy programs.

Worker Run:

We are unique worker run farm. This means that under the leadership of the owners and manager the team is given a tremendous amount of responsibility and initiative. Employees are seen as equals and valuable members of the team who, after proper training, are given autonomy, responsibility, and trust in their opinions and decisions in how to “get the job done”. The planting, nurturing and harvesting are on the plants’ schedule, not ours. Each variety has its own growing time frame, so the planting has to get done in a timely manner, then the plants have to be weeded, nurtured and cared for during their growth, and harvested when they are ready and for each farmers market.

Those who want to get their feet wet learning the basics of growing healthy food will want to apply. We also want to strongly encourage those who are searching for roots in this industry; and who will approach this opportunity with a deep sense of purpose. We also welcome folks with farm experience.

This experience also can lead to careers in nutrition, food policy, and other related fields.

Work description and learning opportunities:

Main tasks include:

Seeding

Transplanting

Weeding

Mulching

Harvesting

Pruning

Mowing

Spraying

Weed wacking

Compost making

Trellising

Beekeeping

Other farm tasks and projects

Work at our farmers markets on a rotating basis

…and lots more

What you will learn

the basics of sustainable fruit and vegetable farming including:

specific growing techniques used for each variety of crop

Use of organic products

The composition and mechanization of a drip irrigation system

Soil health and biology

Compost making

High tunnel production

Pest and diseases control

Crop rotation

Operating small power tools

General year-round property maintenance

CSA preparation

Working Farmer’s Markets

Elementals of Beekeeping

Farm Management

Reaching out to low-income communities

…and lots more

We value education and learning, so we are happy to support any internship, college capstone project or thesis research; please share details during your interview. And, we welcome your ideas.

This is a great opportunity for someone with no prior farming experience who wants to immerse themselves and have an introductory experience with small scale farming which can lead to farm management and other agricultural related professions.

The Ideal Candidate:

We are looking to fill full-time year-round positions. Our farm market season started in late May and goes  through just before Christmas with ample work in the winter to close out the season, care for the property and prepare for the coming season.

This is a full time position and no prior experience is required. We negotiate separately with experienced applicants. We typically work 50-55 hours a week in peak season and less in the slower season.

Applicants Requirements:

in good physical shape

have a valid drivers license

have strong energy and work ethic

are Covid vaccinated (out of respect for staff that lives together in the farm house and with contact with our customers)

able to handle rural environmental conditions (heat, cold, rain, bugs)

work cohesively and productively as a farm team

We stress that candidates:

should feel confident that they can thrive in an environment where hard work, maximum effort and responsibility are expected from every staff member. Time sensitive deadlines such as planting, nurturing, harvesting are a routine occurrence on the farm which sometimes means working extra hours to make sure these are met.

and want to learn chemical-free farming and farm management; it's hard but rewarding work.

Those who want to get their feet wet learning the basics of growing healthy food will want to apply. We also want to strongly encourage those who are searching for roots in this industry; and who will approach this opportunity with a deep sense of purpose.

This experience can lead to careers in nutrition, food policy, and other related fields.

Applicants need to be:

Fully covid vaccinated

US citizens

in good physical condition

and have a valid driver's license

Prior farm work experience welcome but we also welcome interns and folks with no experience, just a strong desire to experience sustainable farming.

While we prefer folks with college education, the most important requirement is the genuine desire to have this experience and be committed to working the season or longer.  Experience with farm equipment also welcome.

Candidates should be self starters, work as a team, quick learners, not afraid to ask questions, seek guidance and take their commitment to the season seriously.

Previous farm experience

But again, we accept folks who have never farmed before but who genuinely want to learn sustainable farming.

Folks with experience with farm equipment also disireable.

Compensation:

All staff have their own room/board/utilities/wifi/internet.

• First 3 months - $1,100/mo

Raised to $1,600/mo

Second year staff start at $2,000/mo

• Minimum season commitment required (negotiable).
• Workman’s compensation
• Staff is provided with a monthly shared stipend for vegetarian food staples and produce grown on the farm.
• Health Insurance – if you don’t have your own health insurance, we will work with you to provide up to $200/month for an individual premium health plan with a local insurance provider.

Experience working as a team on a small sustainable farm

Working at farmers markets and with CSAs

Development many skills from organizing, meeting deadlines, dealing with unforeseen natural and other challenges

Living on a beautiful  peaceful farm

Because of the amenities, staff has been able save money

Free room/board/internet/health insurance/workman's comp

We also found that some folks go on to related fields with much success due to their hands on farm experience